About Face: Performing Race in Fashion and Theater [Hardcover]

Dorinne Kondo (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415911400 | ISBN-13: 978-0415911405 | Publication Date: September 17, 1997

From the runways of Paris to the casting controversies over BMiss Saigon, from a local demonstration at the Claremont Colleges in California to the gender-blending of BM. Butterfly, BAbout Face examines representations of Asia and their reverberations in both Asia and Asian American lives. Japanese high fashion and Asian American theater become points of entry into the politics of pleasure, the performance of racial identities, and the possibility of political intervention in commodity capitalism. Based on Kondo's fieldwork, this interdisciplinary work brings together essays, interviews with designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons and playwright David Henry Hwang, and "personal" vignettes in its exploration of counter-Orientalisms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Kondo's book is dense, absorbing and challenging; Kondo's intellect and passion permeate the work and will cause a reader to question the semiotics of race and fashion in both American culture and theatre.
–Theatre History Studies, 1999

...Ms. Kondo's style of writing and vocabulary will provide food for thought.
–Education About Asia, Winter 1998

About Face is a dynamic and exciting book, one that addresses issues and takes positions that few in the field of Asian studies have yet to engage.... Much in this book is well grounded in traditional methodologies (interview, historical, and textual analysis) and the importance of identity and performance for today's world of global and transnationalist capitalism should be beyond question.
–Journal of Asian Studies

... recommend[ed] ... for a class in either ethnic studies, Asian cultural studies or even fashion ... These essays give the reader insight into an Asian American woman's perception of commonly held Asian stereotypes that can be illuminating to the student of Asian culture.
–Education About Asia

About the Author

Dorinne Kondo is an anthropologist and feminist scholar at Pomona College, and the author of Crafting Ourselves: Power, Gender and Discourses of Identity in a Japanese Workplace. She was a dramaturge on the world premiere of Anna Deavere Smith's play Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and was represented as a character in Twilight at the New York Shakespeare festivala and at the Cort Theater on Broadway. She is also an aspiring playwright.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (September 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415911400
• ISBN-13: 978-0415911405
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,459,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, May 3, 2005

By 

Jane - See all my reviews

This review is from: About Face: Performing Race in Fashion and Theater (Hardcover)

I enjoyed reading this book. I like chapter about Japanese fashion. Also, introduction is very interesting, as this introduces so many important concepts. For those who study Japanese culture (and Asian American cultures), this book is highly recommended.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars About Face, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: About Face: Performing Race in Fashion and Theater (Paperback)

Very interesting but difficult to read. About Face deals with the way race is performed in high fashion and theater. It centers on the lack of representation of Asain Americans in these areas. Her use of vocabulary and writing style do not make the book accessible to many people, which is unfortunate.